Archive for tag:
nd

I still can't believe it. I am closer to graduation and it's
getting very REAL.This upcoming week will be my last week
at the inner city clinic I spoke about before, and then I have
about 2 more weeks until my 2 weeks of observation off campus! Then
when I get back, I will have about 4 days left of clinic before
graduation week! It's so crazy!

I remember this similar feeling when I was graduating from the
chiropractic program, but the feeling was halted by the sense that
my graduation was only the mark of the beginning of the
naturopathic program. While all my colleagues were putting their
business plans into action, interviewing for associate positions,
or packing up and moving back home, I was studying and preparing
for my 11th trimester! It was still an exciting
time considering it is still a HUGE accomplishment. However, it was
bittersweet for me.

Now I sit here, writing one of my last blogs ever,
preparing for a new journey in my life, and feeling an amazing
amount of joy and peace! It's still very stressful realizing that I
am still at that place again--not completing a business plan or
interviewing for any associate positions, but preparing a nursery,
utilizing the summer to relax, and enjoying life without the
pressures of school. I feel much better about it all than I
thought.

You might hear over and over again about the "Numbers Game" in
clinic. There are high expectations and huge requirements that are
obligated for you to pass your clinic internship, and the
naturopathic program has definitely trumped the chiropractic
program in my opinion! I learned so much from both programs on many
different levels, but because the naturopathic program is still
relatively young at NUHS, there are different struggles that we
face. The numbers were driving me crazy but definitely did not
affect my ability to give my patients the best care possible. And
our clinicians were right, if you treat your patients right, the
numbers will take care of themselves.

As I am heading into my last couple weeks with patients on
campus, I am feeling more comfortable than ever about my competency
AND numbers. Although I won't be out in practice right away, I have
been able to soak up the experience the best way I could. I
struggled, I cried, I became frustrated on the verge of walking
away--but looking back now, I can appreciate the obstacles I've had
to overcome and above all else, I've had the best patients ever!
:)

I only hope you will be able to soak up my experience no matter
what school or program you choose! Take care of people and they
will take care of you. :) Here's to my last weeks here at
National!!

There's no way I can fit in work without any play! This week has
been a huge blessing.

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays since I've met
Ryan! It's just an excuse to go eat a fancy dinner and watch a
romantic movie. Everyday is Valentine's Day for us but we always
get to pick a place that's more expensive than we would normally
eat at and just enjoy the day!

Well my cousin, Rosie, is probably the biggest fan of this
"Hallmark holiday" and always throws a big get together every year!
Her theme this year was "Red Carpet" and it was so much fun to
dance the night away and spend time with friends and family. I also
got to spend the day in the city with my two best friends Maria and
Rosie, which is long overdue. Eating "good eats," walking and
window-shopping, and catching up was definitely what we all
needed!

My cousin Rosie and I at her Red
Carpet party.

Well, when I came home, I realized I had a lot of work to do. I
had to work on my Grand Rounds presentation, which consisted of
sifting through tons of research articles, ten or so books, and
surfing the internet for more resources. It is not anywhere close
to being done but I will be spending my day off (President's Day)
working on it all day! It definitely has been a learning experience
since I picked such a difficult topic but I am excited to share it
with my colleagues next week! The title of my presentation is
"Dream catching: reaching your inner healer." I will let you know
how it goes!

Then on top of the Grand Rounds topic, I got an email from Dr.
Solecki concerning my case study report I worked on with him on a
patient about a year ago. It has been published and accepted for
poster presentation at the Sports Symposium but now it is being
reviewed for another presentation in Portland, Oregon! However,
that means I have more corrections to make, which I will be working
on today, as well.

It's so important in our profession to not only graduate, pass
board exams, and get licensed but to contribute! Many things that
"Complementary and Alternative Medicine" practitioners use as
modalities do not always get published so sometimes modalities we
choose to use, we know work, but the public can be skeptical. Case
studies are the place to start. It's an isolated event that can
examine the success of a treatment you have done with a patient
that may have been more complex but it can encourage more research
on it or can encourage other practitioners to try your treatment
modalities. It's exciting that Dr. Solecki and I have been accepted
by multiple presentations, and I can't wait until I put more effort
in the case study to get it published into a medical journal.

Well hope you all enjoyed time with your loved ones during this
LOVE week but remember, Valentine's Day is everyday!

Congratulations to the Giants for winning the Super Bowl! It was
an exciting game, but to be honest, the half time show was the MOST
exciting with all the celebrity debuts! :)

The best part of Super Bowl has to be the food. My girl cousins
and I use this big football event as an excuse to just go crazy on
lots of food while all the "boys" go crazy over the actual game. It
was just a nice time to spend with family, have fun and memorable
conversations, and take a break from everything else going on in
life.

My aunt with all the amazing food she made for her Super Bowl
party!

This week is going to be tough. I have the NPLEX (Naturopathic
Physicians Licensing Exam) exams on Tuesday that are all day and
then resume back at clinic. It seems like the "fun" never seems to
end. If studying for board exams wasn't enough, I have a full
clinic schedule mixed in with preparation for my Grand Rounds
presentation.

Grand Rounds is a presentation that we are required to do in
front of our colleagues and any faculty or staff interested in
topics we have researched. We are required to do one in
9th Tri and one in 10th Tri.
Last trimester, my presentation was on Botanicals during Pregnancy,
which turned out to be great. This time around, I've been so
focused on studying for board exams, that I still have to pick my
topic plus start all the grueling research!

People ask me all the time, "Aren't you ready to be done
already?!" I can't seem to answer that question fast enough! To all
my readers, YES, I AM READY! It has been a long but quick 5 years
that I've spent at NUHS getting my bachelor's, chiropractic and
soon my naturopathic degree. Some of the professors joke all the
time that I should just round everything out and do the AOM program
but I have to happily decline!

This journey (if you choose to take it) of dual-enrolled degrees
is not easy. It's not impossible either. But take time to enjoy a
Super Bowl here and there, treat your body well to stay as healthy
as possible--and always make time for your friends and family. I
can't say that enough!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving
weekend to share with your loved ones.

This week I only had clinic for two days due to the holidays and
I got to fit in a couple patients, but I was so excited to get out
of Illinois and see our extended family in Minnesota. We drove the
whole 7 hours (super long) but it was more than worth it. There was
an endless amount of amazing food, laughs and love. And yes, I did
visit the "Mall of America" on Black Friday! :)

I've dedicated this blog to all the things I am thankful
for--like my little "niece" Rhyin, (pictured above), my little
person full of JOY this weekend! We shouldn't only use one weekend
of the year to reflect back on the things that are awesome in our
lives, but it's definitely a nice reminder to give thanks!

My thanksgiving list:

1. My mother:

She exemplifies beauty and strength to me. I am definitely my
mother's daughter. I love her so much and I am so thankful for all
the sacrifices she has made for our family!

2. My husband:

Ryan is an amazing man and I am so lucky to have him. Through
all my complaining "girl" moments and everything else, he loves me
more and more every day. He is going to be such an amazing dad one
day and I can't wait to share more life adventures with him.

3. My brothers (and sister-in-law):

Having three older brothers with a strong mother has definitely
made me who I am. They are always supportive of me! Plus my oldest
brother and sister-in-law gave me my amazingly awesome nephew,
Xander, who makes my life so much more than I could imagine.

4. My two best friends, Maria and Rosie:

We've been friends for over 10 years and they definitely
complete me. They were both my maids-of-honor in my wedding and
will always be in my life forever! They are amazing!

5. My family and friends:

From my strong-willed grandparents to my hilarious and
fashionable cousins to all my colleagues at NUHS. I am a lucky girl
to have all these amazing people in my life who make me strive to
be the better version of myself and show me that life is about LOVE
and LAUGHTER--with a couple bumps in the road. :)

I could probably go on and on and on with what I am thankful for
including the food I get to eat every day, the house I come home
to, and the education that I have. What is on your THANKFUL
list?

I started clinic on Tuesday thinking that my week was going to
be very slow and also anticipating a slow schedule next week due to
Thanksgiving. However, it was actually the opposite!

I finally got to see my first pediatric patient! It was exciting
and very challenging to take a history from the mother and then do
a physical exam on the tiny human patient! I will have to say that
I was very blessed and lucky with my patient because he loved
everything about the appointment and was so entertaining!

I've always wanted to go into women's health and pediatric
health. This tri and last tri, I had so many patients with women's
"problems;" it was difficult but still very rewarding. And now that
I had my first pediatric patient, it definitely cemented my
decision to do women's and pediatric health! I only hope we can get
more pediatric patients in our clinic because it really gave me
such a positive and very necessary experience.

One of my best friends, Rosie, playing "bride" while
waitingfor our other best friend to change into wedding
dresses!

My weekend was amazing as usual. I got to spend time with my two
best friends as we shopped for Maria's wedding dress! After
spending an entire day dress shopping, we went to support a very
good friend as he had to say goodbye to his mother for the last
time after losing her battle to breast cancer. Having two funerals
in two weekends is definitely not expected, but celebrating life
and being thankful for those people in our lives is just
beautiful!

My best friends and I went back to my house and I hosted a
"girls night." We cooked together, laughed a lot, and celebrated
each other and life! It was a great reminder of all the things I am
thankful for, which is family and friends! What a great segue into
this Thanksgiving Week!

Waiting for Maria to come and show us her first
dress!

Stay tuned for next week's blog that will consist of my thankful
list and food pictures! :)

Have a happy thanksgiving and enjoy each other...enjoy life!

Blissor: Having a holiday that lets us all enjoy family, good
food--and an excuse to stay in pajamas all day! :)